The Choices We Make
by missmerrymak
Summary: "Try not to be so stubborn sometimes alright? It's not only yours but their second chance too." What if Jenny had talked to Gibbs in that diner? Would it have changed things? T because of mild swearing. A hint of Tiva but mainly Jibbs.


**A/N: This is basically about what I think should have happened had Lauren Holly made an appearance in Life Before his Eyes. It's been floating around in my head for a while now and has taken me forever to write and to work out all the little details so I am very happy to be finally publishing it. Also, I want to thank ncisaddiction and Aliyah516 really quick for their wonderful input on this story, you guys are really helpful. :) **

**I hope you like it and please review! I love feedback and appreciate anything you have to say about it. Now onto the story.**

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He looked at the tables around him and his eyes fell to a red head he could never forget. She was wearing the same outfit she died in except now it was spot free and she was motioning him over. Hesitantly he walked to her. "Jenny." He said quietly and she raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a question or a greeting?" She asked and he smirked, secretly glad that she hadn't changed at all. She didn't say anything and raised her eyebrows as if waiting for him to initiate something, damned if he knew what it was.

"Why are you here?" He asked finally and she shrugged.

"Why are _you_ Jethro?" She asked tilting her head at him. "Hesitating to shoot? How many times have you told me never to hesitate, just go with my gut? Do you have a death wish?" She asked a bit accusingly and he just stared at her. Why was everyone asking him about his final moments? What difference did it make, he _was_ dead, _right_? She smirked and shifted in her seat as if amused by his thoughts. He had soon come to realize that everyone in this diner could literally read his mind.

"Don't you have to show me something?" He asked, wanting to get this over with. She sighed and glared softly at him.

"Jethro, pace yourself." She reprimanded and he just couldn't help it. She had walked right into that one.

"I don't recall you being able to pace yourself." He retorted, smirking at her and she couldn't help but crack a smile, the kind that always made him feel weak in the knees. She sighed and looked at him.

"I am not here to get lectured." She said sternly as she tried to get the conversation back on track. "I'm here because you need me to be." She stated and he raised an eyebrow at her, confused but unwilling to show it.

"What could I possibly need you here for Jenny?" He demanded slightly angrily though he didn't exactly mean it. He was just confused and all he wanted was answers, not riddles. She shook her head, willing him to be patient.

"I just want you to think about straying from your damn rules and ethics once and a while and _live_. Something I should have done. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did Jethro." She said as serious as he had ever seen her before. He knew that she really wanted this to hit home and so far it was. Surprisingly, Jenny, the woman he thought could never intimidate him, was doing just that. He blinked and suddenly they weren't in the diner anymore. They were in his house and Jenny had disappeared. He began walking but stumbled and cursed under his breath, looking down to find out what it was he tripped on. He could honestly say that he was surprised when he found a teddy bear under his foot. Gibbs furrowed his brow and picked it up looking at the stitched on smile and black eyes.

"Did you remember to pick up Evan's blanket from Abby you know he gets really fussy without it." He heard a very feminine and familiar voice echo through the house and his head shot up.

"Jenny?" He mumbled and walked to find the source of the voice still holding onto the bear. He found her in the guest room, except it wasn't a guest room; it was a little boy's room and he froze. Before he got a chance to examine the room further Jenny walked right past him like he wasn't even there and he suspected that he wasn't. He followed her as she purposefully walked to the living room.

"Jethro?" She called and when they got there he couldn't help but smile, at himself. He was playing with his son Evan who must have been only one year's old and wearing a light blue onesie. Gibbs stared in disbelief as he saw himself lying down on his back holding up his son and flying him around the air with the little boy laughing his head off. Jenny giggled bringing him out of his reverie and he blinked, suddenly back in the diner, without a teddy bear and sitting on a bar stool. He blinked rapidly and looked around to find Jenny sitting next to him, watching him with deep concern, no doubt wondering how he was feeling after what he had just seen.

"I…you and me…" He stumbled unable to find the words to speak and she nodded.

"I know. I don't know how you did it but somehow you convinced me to be the fifth Mrs. Gibbs." She said smirking and he shook his head.

"But…" She cut him off.

"Don't question it Jethro, it would have happened. And if you open up your heart it will happen again, even to other people. They look up to you Gibbs and they look to you for approval. Take Tony and Ziva. Hell they've been dancing around each other for how many years now? Try not to be so stubborn sometimes alright? It's not only _yours_ but _their_ second chance too." She said before smiling at him and reaching over his arm to grab a packet of sugar for her coffee he hadn't even realized was there before. She still smelled the same, vanilla and jasmine. He didn't know what to say his mind was reeling so fast so he just watched as she ripped the packet open and poured the contents into her coffee cup. He knew it was nearing the time that she was going to leave so he reached out to touch her but she moved away. "Hey. That's not how it works." She warned softly, looking first to his limp arm on the table then to his eyes. "Don't get too attached to me, I have to go." She said before taking a sip of her coffee. "You'll be alright, I promise Jethro." She said looking at him once and giving him a warm smile. He couldn't help the fact that his lips curled up into the beginning of a smile as he watched her. However, a plate being set down in front of him distracted his gaze and he glanced at the piece of apple pie on the table. Frowning he turned to Jenny to ask if she had ordered this for him but she wasn't there.


End file.
